


Not big on Christmas

by bunnysworld



Series: Have a Camelot Christmas 2019 [23]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Christmas Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-23
Updated: 2019-12-23
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:00:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21912559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bunnysworld/pseuds/bunnysworld
Summary: To avoid his crush on his roommate showing, Merlin pretends to not care about Christmas.
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Series: Have a Camelot Christmas 2019 [23]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1558780
Comments: 16
Kudos: 136





	Not big on Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> Not beta'd.
> 
> Have a Camelot Christmas 2019!
> 
> Day 23
> 
> Almost there!

Merlin closed his eyes for a moment as the bus made its way along the street. This had been his last day at work before they closed for Christmas and Merlin had been dreading it as much as he had been looking forward to it. He usually liked Christmas. Well, the Christmas he had known from when he grew up. His mother's tiny house that was stuffed with decorations and the smell of freshly baked Christmas cookies. Since he had moved to the big city, he didn't have such a Christmas anymore. There was just no time. There were meetings and special orders that had to be worked on, overtime seemed to be their Christmas gift, and in the few spare hours he had, he was meeting up with friends. He'd had more mulled wine in the past four weeks than he had in his entire life before. 

He wouldn't be alone for Christmas as his roommate had announced that his company would close for Christmas week, so he would be around. Which could become a real problem. It already was. Merlin hadn't paid much attention when he was looking for a place to stay and since Arthur had been looking for someone to share the rent with, he had moved in. Which wasn't the worst thing that ever happened to him. Arthur was loud and could be quite obnoxious sometimes, but he also had a nice side, even though he didn't show it very often. 

All of a sudden, there was this huge crush on his roommate and Merlin couldn't look away when Arthur paraded through the living room in nothing but a towel on his way to the bathroom or when he just sat there, watching one of those annoying football games on TV. He was gorgeous, all blond and blue-eyed and had a contagious laugh. Even though he pretended to be a tough business man, Merlin had found out that Arthur was giving to several charities and sometimes went to help at the animal shelter. 

In the past weeks, Merlin had assured Arthur that he didn't even like Christmas decorations and that the holiday only meant a few days off for him. It was a lie, but if they made the place more homely and they would spend the holidays together, it would get even more difficult to keep his crush from showing. He didn't look forward to coming into a place that looked like always and make a sandwich instead of having a nice, warm dinner waiting, though. 

Getting off at his bus stop, Merlin trudged his feet as he neared the house and then stopped in his tracks. Had he gotten off at the wrong bus stop? Was this really the house he shared with Arthur? He checked the number on the door and yes, this was their house, but...There were tiny lights all around the windows, a large wreath hung at the door and a giant Santa figure on the side of the top step held a sign at him that said "Merry Christmas". Carefully, he climbed the steps. 

Slowly, he turned the key and was greeted with lots of different smells. It smelled like cookies and like dinner, a bit like fir tree and a lot like warm apple cider with cinnamon. What the heck was going on?

Hanging his jacket on the coat rack and setting his backpack down, Merlin pulled the beanie from his head as he entered the living room. A large tree stood in the corner and was decorated with so many tiny lights that it sparkled, every little spot had Christmassy things on it and there was a plate with cookies on the table. Someone had even hung a garland of fir twigs around the TV screen. 

"Arthur?" It couldn't have been Arthur. There probably were picklocks in the house, trying to feel at home, but that thought was ridiculous. 

Arthur appeared from the kitchen. "Merlin! You're back already! Great, dinner will be ready in a few."

"Dinner..." Merlin echoed. Arthur had donned a red apron and it looked as if he was wearing an ugly Christmas sweater underneath it. He had a headband with antlers on his head and didn't look the least bit bothered about it. 

"Yes, dinner. You know, where people eat warm food together." 

"Arthur...that's...what happened? I mean...why?" Maybe Arthur had guests over and wouldn't want him around, but usually, they gave each other fair warnings if they had someone visiting them. 

Arthur, who had been whirling about, stopped in his tracks and looked at Merlin. "I thought you might like it. You said you're not big on Christmas, but I saw that photo of you and your mother from last year...she called by the way, they've arrived safely at their holiday destination, she sends her love and wishes you a merry Christmas..."

"And you went through all this trouble to..." Merlin gestured around, making a mental note to call his mother later. 

"Yeah, well, maybe I wasn't really honest about not being into Christmas?" Arthur made a funny face and the antlers on his head moved. "I thought you might like it, so I went all out. I even made cookies."

"And you cooked dinner." 

"Well," Arthur shuffled his feet, "I left that to the pros, I only reheat it." A loud 'ding' in the kitchen let him know that something was ready. "I...I hope I didn't overdo it. I mean, if you don't like it, we can take the decorations down. But I'd really like if you would join me for dinner."

A warm, fuzzy feeling spread in Merlin's chest. He had no idea where this evening would take them, but Arthur looked so adorable and unsure all of a sudden, that he nodded. "I'd love to."


End file.
